SLJ Reviews: Chopsticks, the App

There’s been a lot of buzz about Jessica Anthony and Rodrigo Corral’s format-bending young adult novel, Chopsticks, released last week in print and as an app.

School Library Journal’s reviewer Allison Tran called the book a “sophisticated…fascinating puzzle” that’s both “spellbinding and inventive.” We asked her to take a look at the e-version. Her review follows.

Title: Chopsticks

Author: Jessica Anthony & Rodrigo Corral

Published by: Penguin/Razorbill

Developed by: Citrus Suite

Platform: iOS, requires 4.0 or later

Version: 1.0

Price: $6.99

Gr 9 Up – Chopsticks, an intriguing mystery told primarily through images, is as captivating as an app as it is in the print format. The pictures, which include photos, drawings, and paintings, are gorgeous, sharp, and luminescent on the iPad. Navigation is intuitive and there’s a “how to use” section with instructions, just in case.

The app’s interactive components are experienced by tapping the animated musical notes subtly floating around the screen. Included are video clips, songs, sound effects, dialogue captions, and animated IM conversations mimicking the appearance of actual messages as the characters type them.